Beast and the Beautiful
by Miss Ayra
Summary: A mysterious guest arrives at the Sakamaki home and none of the brothers quite know what to do. Except Reiji; Reiji always knows what to do. He will get to the bottom of this, whether he has to use charm or force. Hopefully through force; His dungeon was getting a bit rusty. Rating will change.
1. Taximan and the Traveller

If you spot any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise, please let me know in the comments. Now, on with Chapter 1.

* * *

Max was a Taxi driver. A Quality Taximan - his girlfriend said so.

His current passenger was quietly dripping water onto the backseat and had been lurking there ever since he picked them up at the airport. They gave him directions to 'Sakamaki Manor' just before they collapsed onto the seat, rain streaming off their enormous waterproof. And that was the last time they spoke, in over an hour of travel. Every now and then, he would be able to hear a rustle or a snuffle, but nothing more noisy than that.

It was all very mysterious... and extremely annoying.

If they didn't tell him anything about themselves, he wouldn't been able to start a conversation. He would have nothing to make their journey exciting, or memorable; he would be a disgrace in the eyes of cabbies everywhere. Even worse, he would be suggesting that Betty's opinion of him was wrong - that he _wasn't_ a Quality Taximan. He could talk about the weather, or the towns and villages they were passing through, but that wasn't what Quality Taximen did. They did not stoop to such common conversation starters - plus, he didn't think the young man* sitting in the back would actually like being chatted to. He would probably find Max very irritating, like most people did when he started chatting. Apart from Betty - he could chat with Betty for hours.

Then, it hit him: Football! _Everyone_ watches football. So he commented, in Japanese, "Man. United haven't been doing so well recently; Losing that last game 0-2 dropped them 3 places on the table. There's nothing they can do to pull back up the league this late in season, wouldn't you say?" When no reply came from the back seat, he glanced back in the mirror. The passenger had not turned his head, so he repeated his comment in English, slowly. The man turned towards him but still did not reply. He tried talking about Rugby but still no response, in either English or Japanese. Max dropped the one-sided conversation for now. He would come up with the perfect conversation starter as he drove along. It would be easy! He was a Quality Taximan, and _they_ could do _anything_.

* * *

*Well, he was pretty sure they were male. Their voice had seemed quite low, but he had only heard it once - not to mention the noise! The raindrops, the traffic, and worst of all, the enormous racket created when the planes took off.

* * *

He was planning a conversation around their shared favourite sweets, when he realised something. He had never seen his passenger's face. At the airport, it had been concealed by their coat's hood or the curtain of rain. Up until now, they had been looking out the window, their face turned completely away. That would change right now.

He sneaked several looks at their face through the mirror. The sodden hood of their coat had been pulled back, and a woollen hat covered most of the young man's black hair. Bizarrely, he was _still_ wearing sunglasses even though they had both been in the car for over an hour and a half already. They might just be to block out light so he could sleep, but there wasn't much point today - little sunlight could get through the heavy clouds. From what could be seen around the shades, their face was a goldeny-honey colour. It was too dark to be a tan at this time of year, Max thought. His last few glances revealed a pointed nose and chin, coupled with soft, slightly chubby cheeks.

Max thought about all the places that the traveller could have come from. Maybe the traveller _was_ tanned - from a week in Africa! Or a weekend in India. Max changed his mind when he remembered the huge rucksack in the boot. It was _much_ more likely they had been walking the Great Wall of China or hiking through a far-off jungle. A tropical paradise sounded lovely right now, Max thought as he listened to the rain pound on the roof of his taxi. Max wasn't really thinking when he wondered where the boy had been before Japan. He was too busy planning his perfect holiday to notice he that last thought out loud. Imagine his surprise when the traveller actually replied!

"I've been interrailing 'round Europe for the past 3 months," they said in accented English. The young man would have turned away again, if Max hadn't quickly asked him why he was now in Japan.

"I thought that it might be nice to have a look around, while I'm still travelling. Your culture is so different to what I'm used to." Happy that his passenger was opening up, Max asked him why they weren't driving to a Hotel.

"I'm staying with family friends for a while, before I move on to Tokyo." He stopped talking for a while, then added "I'm going to be going to school with some of them." Max thought the young man looked a bit old for school, and said so.

"I'm actually 17, nearly 18. I dropped out from school at 16." Max asked why. "To teach myself. To see the world." The passenger shifted around in his seat, looking quite uncomfortable. Max wisely changed the subject; he asked what the traveller was teaching himself now.

"I thought Japanese would be handy to know, seen as I'm going to be in the country for quite a while. I picked up a few workbooks in Frankfurt, and worked through them while I was on the train. I was on the train an awful lot; I'd finished them by the time I was flying out. So I got some Japanese audiobooks at the airport, to listen to on the flight here." Max noticed his earbuds for the first time. That could explain why he didn't respond the first time Max spoke to him.

The traveller continued, "Could I try some Japanese on you, to see if I'm saying it right?" Max nodded and listened as the passenger introduced himself as Sam du Gévaudan, from Paris. Max supposed it was reasonably good, considering how long 'Sam' had been learning Japanese for. He was reasonably easy to understand, but spoke slowly and paused often. He also had no idea how gender worked in Japanese. Then something occurred to him; Max curiously asked,

"How did you know how to give directions to," he glanced at the notes he had made, "Sakamaki Manor, if you've only been learning Japanese for a few weeks?" Sam grinned and just said "Google Translate." Thus started a glorious exploration of how to cheat in language classes.

* * *

Both Max and Sam were still laughing when they pulled up outside the iron gates. Max peered out through the steamed-up windows; the gothic mansion was very intimidating in the low light. They had outdriven the rain for now, but he could already see the scowling clouds catching up.

Swinging the taxi door closed behind him, Max went round the back of the car to fetch Sam's luggage. Sam waved him off, insisting that he could do it himself. Max wasn't so certain - the backpack was as huge as he remembered. It was _so_ tall and _so_ wide, it could be seen behind Sam _even_ when he was facing Max head-on.

Feeling rather concerned, Max gave the boy his card - he didn't live far away. They had actually driven through his town on the way here, stopping so that Sam could get some supplies from the store; and so that Max could get his lunch from Betty. The only reason Max was at the airport, so far away from home, was because he had just dropped another passenger off. The woman had been very willing to chat; they'd talked for ages, and she'd promised to hire him on the journey back. As gravel crunched from Sam's footsteps, Max compared the two very different passengers. He was surprised to find he preferred Sam's quieter nature - by speaking less often, Sam's conversations felt more worthwhile. But he still preferred chatting with Betty over everything else.

Noticing the approaching storm, Max quickly got back in the taxi and started driving. He watched the thin, raincoat-smothered figure slowly make it's way up the gravel drive. The rain suddenly started again, soaking Sam as it crashed down from the heavens.

Max hoped that Sam would enjoy his time in Japan.

* * *

It will get more interesting, I promise. Just wait for the next chapter (which will be up soon), or have look at the teaser below. Review or comments would be nice, so I know what people think of the story, and how I write it. I would also be very grateful if you could point out any mistakes you find.

* * *

 _From sometime in the near future..._

Sam ... wasn't what he expected. Ayato didn't know why he had thought this. It wasn't because Sam was different; he was so used to his messed-up brothers that minor personality issues (like attacking people when they tried to steal your stuff) didn't phase him anymore. Rather, he had the strangest certainty that their guest wasn't who they were supposed to be. That they should be someone else _entirely_. He hadn't a clue why he felt this way - he'd never meet the guy before in his life! But Ayato would get to the bottom of this. He was sure that no-one else would be able to.


	2. Reiji and the Nuisance

Please put any mistakes you find in the comments. Now, on with Chapter 2!

* * *

Reiji watched the taxi speed away from the gates. He had been studying the treaties of Alexander the Great - until a low growl had ruined his concentration. He walked over to the window, reaching it just in time to see a tall figure unloading luggage from the boot of a taxi. They were the passenger; the driver barely waited a minute to swing himself into the taxi and drive off. (If _they_ were the driver, they _really_ weren't having a good day.) They swung their enormous backpack up and around, settling it on their shoulders. The passenger looked up, taking in the house. They were halfway across the courtyard by the time the taxi was out of sight, heading straight for the heavy wooden doors.

Reiji was looking forward to the newcomer's reaction to the lack of locks. Would they get scared at the implications? Or just take advantage of the lack of defences? He thought the latter would be lot more likely (though less fun). Especially now that it had begun to rain quite so heavily - he certainly wouldn't want to be out there right now. Reiji briefly wondered if they had some control over the weather; The rain had started _just_ as the passenger got here, and the forecast hadn't predicted _anywhere_ near this much rain. He dismissed the thought - there was no logic in drenching yourself, and the spectacle was useless if no-one was watching.

He looked at the newcomer again. Or where they _had_ been, 30 seconds ago. He must have missed them coming in through the door. It was a shame, but no great loss. He would easily work out their personality through other means. It's not like it would take him any _noticeable_ amount of time.

He could already hear their rapid footsteps on the tiles in the entrance hall below. A tendency toward impatience - or had they been completely soaked by the rain, and were now pacing to warm up? Taking care to listen properly, he concluded it was neither. Their footsteps had purpose; they were definitely heading towards something. How unusual. Had they been here before? Reiji didn't think so, but he hadn't seen them yet. So what _were_ they walking towards?

That was when he remembered who he was living with. Two days ago, Ayato had decided that he needed more sleep - to 'maintain my handsome face, naturally'. He had taken to sleeping on the chaise lounge just off from the entrance hall* when they all got home from school. The seat that was right in the path of anyone came in through the main doors. Brilliant. Ayato was bound to do _something_ that would make them all look like fools. Reiji quickly headed downstairs to intercept their guest, sighing as he went.

It wasn't too much of a chore, he thought - he might get there in time to stop Ayato from saying anything stupid. And he had been going to great the newcomer _anyway._ Reiij had a duty as eldest* to receive any guests, whether they were expected or not. In addition to that, he needed to work out why they were here in the first place; it was doubtful anyone else would bother to find out.

* * *

*It was the only one Shu _hadn't_ claimed. Funny how all his problems lead back to that lazy so-and-so.

*Shu didn't count. He barely moved enough to qualify as living (or should it be un-living?), let alone to count as someone important. Reiji should have been born first - it would have solved everyone's problems. _He_ would have the authority to make sure his brothers behaved, and to run the house more efficiently. _Shu_ would be free to sleep and ... do what ever Shu did when he wasn't sleeping.

* * *

When he got downstairs, Reiji was mildly surprised to see that it _wasn't_ Ayato being strange. Ayato was apparently still asleep, as their guest was trying to wake him up... using a feather. They had attached it to an extendable pole, and were currently drifting it under Ayato's nose. Reiji had no idea why they thought it would work. He walked over to the pair of them just as Ayato 'woke up' and grabbed the feather. Curious. So the guest had _annoyed_ Ayato into waking up. Well, it had _worked_.

The guest hadn't reacted to Ayato's sudden movement. They just retrieved the pole, leaving the feather in Ayato's hand. Swiftly collapsing the pole, they slotted it back into waiting straps on the side of their bag. Hauling the rucksack back onto their shoulders, the extremely wet figure turned to face Reiji.

They were dripping onto the tiles; he could already see a cloudy puddle forming under their boots. Great. There's no chance he'll have enough time to clean it up _now_ , not whilst he still had to deal with the guest (Nuisance, more like). He just knew that someone would slip over in it, start moaning at him, and suggest that he sack the staff. Again. They still hadn't worked out that Reiji had already done so... _two years ago*_. He was the one who dealt with most of the household's problems. Sara, the maid, came in daily to clean - but only while his brothers were all still at school.

Ayato had already started to object: to being woken; to the presence of the newcomer; to being woken with a _feather;_ to not being told that someone was coming - he hadn't had any time to make sure he looked perfect. Why was Reiji ignoring him? Why was the _human_ ignoring him? His complaints never ended. Reiji could blank them out - he'd more than enough practice at doing so - but he felt slightly sorry for the newcomer... until he remembered the puddle. Scratch that - they didn't deserve any sympathy.

Frowning at the guest's rudeness* (and the puddle), Reiji introduced himself before leading them up the stairs and into the sitting room. He just hoped that Ayato would have enough sense to follow them. And if he did (pretty unlikely right now), that he would shut up for more than a minute while Reiji worked out what was going on.

* * *

*Laito had started staring at their necks a little too hungrily _,_ despite him repeatedly telling the hormone-addled idiot not to. He couldn't have humans running off, screaming about Vampires - he was getting fed up of digging holes in the garden. He had solved the problem by offering them some tea, then sending them on their way. The memory-obscuring serum had presumably worked - he hadn't seen them since.

*Having Sun-blocking Glasses on when indoors was stupid, _and_ suggested a lack of respect towards the house and to the person they were talking to.

* * *

I hope that I got Reiji's voice right. If anyone has any advice on how I could make him sound more like Reiji, do let me know. It won't just be Reiji narrating throughout - each brother should get a go at some point. Chapter 3 will be up sometime in the next two weeks, and it will be Ayato's turn to narrate. Reviews are always welcome.

Miss Ayra


End file.
